I have read a few of Steve’s books this year – including The Stranger, Jane, and The Girl Who Hid inthe Trees – but I think The NightCrawls In has to be my favoriteso far. This collection of drabbles (stories averaging just a couple hundredwords for the most part) and poems may be short, but it leaves a lastingimpression. So many of them read like excerpts of novels, leaving me wantingmore.

The drabbles of “The Night Crawls In,” “The Clearing,” “Curiosity,” “TextMessage,” and “Random Bruise,” all left me wanting the full story. It would begreat if Steve ever uses them for novels or novellas down the road, becausethey all left imprints I couldn’t shake.

As for the poems, I found “Worms,” “Forever,” “Six Shots (ToRedemption),” and “Self” to be the most memorable and striking. I’m not muchfor rhyming, so it was great to read so many of these entries without thatstructure at work. And like the drabbles, there were a handful of stories to befound in some of these poems that would do well as extended pieces.

The Night Crawls In issomething you can read in an hour or two (depending on how you choose to savoreach entry). Generally speaking, this would make me shy away from an actualpurchase. However, this collection is worth the cost; you’ll want to reread itfrom time to time, I’m sure. – by Andrew Redman

4.5 out of 5.0